Water Panel Officials Settle Lawsuit With Fired Employee

The South Florida Water Management District governing board Friday agreed to pay almost $200,000 in back salary and attorneys` fees as part of an out-of- court settlement with a former employee.

Frank Caluwe Jr., an engineer who was fired after raising charges of wrongdoing against several district officials three years ago, will receive more than $82,000 in back pay and benefits. The district also will pay an additional $14,000 in tax and retirement deductions on the lump-sum payment.

In exchange, Caluwe has agreed to drop his pending federal lawsuit, in which he claims his civil rights were violated by his mid-1982 dismissal. He also agreed not to apply for a job with the district for 10 years.

The state`s 4th District Court of Appeal had ordered the district to give Caluwe his job back with full back pay. In the settlement, Caluwe waived that order.

As part of the settlement of the federal case, the district agreed to pay Caluwe`s attorneys, Raymond Rea and Thomas Kingcade, $100,000 in legal fees. Additional attorney`s fees for Rea, who handled the state court case, will be set by a Circuit Court judge, district officials said.

``I think it works out to everyone`s best interest. The possibility of another five years of litigation was there. Everybody was looking forward and wanted to be done with this quickly. It was an equitable settlement for all parties involved. Now Caluwe and his family can get on with their lives,`` said Rea.

Caluwe filed complaints with state ethics investigators that resulted in fines against four district officials, three of whom have since left the regional agency, which governs water supplies in 16 South Florida counties, including Palm Beach, Broward and Dade.

Robert Grafton, a lawyer still working for the district, was fined $1,000 and returned more than $12,000 in salary. He had remained on the district payroll while he traveled across the country as the national leader of the Elks club.

Caluwe`s allegations also led to fines against two former members of the district`s nine-member governing board. Robert Padrick of Fort Pierce was fined $500 for failing to file state-required financial disclosure forms in four consecutive years.

The other board member, John Hundley of Loxahatchee, was fined $75 for not filing the same forms two consecutive years.

Neither Hundley nor Padrick was reappointed by Gov. Bob Graham when his term expired.

Caluwe joined the district in 1974 as a staff engineer and rose rapidly to a supervisory position. By 1981, however, his relations with superiors had turned antagonistic, and he was demoted to a staff-level position.

He was fired July 30, 1982, less than two weeks after he sent a scathing letter to the members of the district`s governing board accusing them of condoning ``poor management and theft.``